India is fighting back against the coronavirus. Even as it accelerates, we are seeing a tremendous need now, more than ever, to aid healthcare providers function effectively so that they well equipped to treat patients. Hospitals in India are already reporting shortages of key equipment needed to care for critically ill patients, including ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical staff. We applaud the various organisations that are doing their part in providing care at this most crucial juncture. Millions of meals, food grains, and other essential commodities and hygiene necessities have also been handed out to the neediest across the country while others have been trying to bring in cheer by many thoughtful gestures. We salute each one of you.
JK Technosoft
With the outbreak of COVID-19, there is a situation of emergency all over the world. Every spectrum of the society has been affected by the ongoing lockdown in India as well. Migrants and daily wage-labourers have been majorly affected by the lockdown due to the lack of employment opportunities. JK Technosoft (JKT) a global software solutions company is actively working towards supporting the marginalised sections of the society in Kanpur by providing them with basic necessities like cooked food packets as well as raw materials like wheat, pulses etc., to over 2000 people daily. Under the noble initiative, JK Technosoft is working to aid as many people as possible. The company personnel is providing cooked food comprising of six chapatis, vegetables, and pickles, that are cooked under strict sanitized kitchens at two centres with each centre contributing 1000 packets per day. The company plans to continue this initiative until the lockdown period continues.
Additionally, the organisation has started to distribute raw material which will comprise wheat flour, pulses, white flour (maida), edible oil, sugar, and salt along with basic hygiene products such as soap and hand sanitisers. The company plans to continue this activity until April 30, 2020, in order to reach out to maximum people and help them in this crisis situation.
Commenting on this initiative Satish Gupta, Executive Director, JK Technosoft Ltd. said, “Government is doing their best to safeguard its citizens in every possible way to overcome the ongoing pandemic situation. Amid such a global humanitarian crisis, the organization needs to stand united with the focused legislature to battle out the Novel Coronavirus.” He further added, “We have a responsibility towards the society, especially during such a crisis. We do not want anyone to go hungry, thus we have started with this initiative to feed the daily wage earners as they are the ones who have been heavily affected by the lockdown. We are doing the best in our personal capacity to serve as many people as possible. This pandemic has affected over a million people worldwide with every nation adopting redressal and preventive measures including nationwide lockdown hitting poorest the hardest with no basic supply to fall upon.”
Zaggle
Amidst the current scenario, it is very important that we extend a hand of aid to the needy and help each other in the crisis situation. In the same line of thought, Zaggle – a leading fintech player in the space of Financial Tech, HR Tech and Bank Tech continues to take crucial steps to ease the pain and burden on people that the pandemic has brought.
Zaggle has adopted 14 villages in Telangana and is providing food essentials and groceries to them on a daily basis.
They have got more agencies involved in this Nobel deed and have been doing this activity for the past three weeks.
These activities are 100 per cent funded by Raj N. Phani, Founder of Zaggle.
Zaggle and a couple of other companies have launched the one lakh meals for the poor in Hyderabad coordinating with Akshaya Patra.
As the company deals with a lot of Enterprise Clients, it is also helping them to reach out to needy organisations like Mumbai Police who constantly need PPE kits plus other sanitisation products.
As a pro-Bono activity, Raj N. Phani, along with his friends, has helped start a defunct factory to start production of hydroxychloroquine tablets. The factory will be supplied to the Government.
Hitachi
Hitachi India Pvt. Ltd. (“Hitachi India”) has announced that Hitachi India and Hitachi Metals (India) Pvt. Ltd. will pledge COVID-19 testing kits at select government hospitals in Delhi, NCR, to battle against the coronavirus epidemic. With an upsurge in the number of cases, these testing kits will empower the doctors and hospitals to identify early detection and containment ensuring timely treatment of the patient.
With the provision of these kits, Hitachi India and Hitachi Metals (India) have fortified their commitment towards a sustainable society by offering solutions for this pandemic issue in India. As an initial advancement, the testing kits have already been provided at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, New Delhi.
Commenting on the work crisis, Bharat Kaushal, Managing Director Hitachi India said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has posed one of the biggest global health challenges. We are with the Government and its formidable actions taken to fight this pandemic. Re-emphasising the role, Hitachi’s core values, Social and Economic Values, and as a truly committed partner to the nation’s well-being, Hitachi India and Hitachi Metals (India) together pledge their support to the Government of India through a small endeavour of helping in the testing of COVID-19. I am confident, that India will combat this catastrophe and will help in enhancing the nation’s capability of early detection and containment. These kits will be made available across laboratories in government hospitals. Hitachi through its vision of “contributing to society through the development of superior, original technology and products,” will continue to seek coalitions to enrich its solution offerings and capabilities and support towards building a safe and sustainable society.”
Responding on priority to the government, society and citizen’s need of the hour, with Social Innovation Business as the driving mission, Hitachi with its technological expertise will continue to make our world a better place to live.
ESR and MW Desai Hospital
ESR, APAC’S leading logistics and real-estate platform collaborated with MW Desai Hospital Mumbai, a COVID-19 dedicated hospital to donate a multi-functional emergency ventilator to help fight the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.
In the view of this development, Abhijit Malkani and Jai Mirpuri, Country Head, ESR India said, “As an organisation that stands for the principles of business with a humane approach, ESR is committed to working together with the people of India in this hour of difficulty. We pursue a sustainable approach to the environment, as well as a proper consideration of our social and economic responsibilities to the wider community. This collaborative initiative is designed to help those in need and contribute to society, at this critical juncture in a positive way. We will further monitor the situation and accordingly align our CSR endeavours to help fight this pandemic.”
Countries across the globe are facing unprecedented shortages of healthcare supplies needed to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. Multi-function ventilators, which are used to combine all critical therapies for medication delivery (oxygen and nebuliser) and secretion management provide unique advantages to manage Mass Casualty Respiratory Failure (MCRF) events by facilitating better care for more patients and reducing the drain on critical space, staff, and supply resources. Ventilators remain in short supply globally and are at this point being directed by central and state governments to the highest-need facilities like hospitals and clinics.
A spokesperson from MW Desai Hospital said, “On behalf of all the hospital staff, I would like to extend our gratitude to ESR for the much-needed ventilator in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. While these are extraordinary times, ESR’s contribution will help in facilitating better care of the patients. I sincerely thank all the organizations that bear the responsibility of procuring and distributing emergency medical supplies. We are incredibly grateful for their support and dedication to the health and wellness of our community.”
Meanwhile, Corona Warriors and Nippon Paint have added a splash of colour to Bengaluru city with their COVID-19 awareness campaign. The campaign is to raise awareness and to educate people with credible information about COVID-19 by bringing their art to life with the colours of Nippon Paint, starting at BTM layout in Bengaluru city.
Tata Trusts
Tata Trusts has begun a pan-India community outreach to induce adoption of health practices, as promoted by the Government of India, in rural areas to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Beginning March 31, 2020, the exercise is expected to have already reached about 12 million people in 21 States.
The campaign ‘5 Kadam, Corona Mukt Jeevan’, ranges from video messages in the country’s languages, even dialects, short animation videos and infographics to audio messages, and SMS-based messaging.
For wider deployment by any interested organisation, the Trusts have made publicly available through social media about 300 such videos and audio messages, in different languages, and dialects like Dongri, Kumaoni, Ladakhi, Garhwali, Santhali, Mundari, Kutchi (Gujarat) and Koborok (Tripura). All of them are available in the playlist here
Over 70 celebrities, from all over India, have lent their support with video and audio messages. Among them are Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, Ila Arun, Atul Kulkarni, Malini Awasthi, and Sanju Samson for Rajasthan Royals, to name a few.
The Trusts have deployed more than 430 master trainers in these 21 States who in turn have trained a pool of over 8,700 community resource persons (village volunteers) to deliver the message till the last mile. Through the existing network of the Trusts’ programmes, the volunteers, associate organisations of the Trusts, community radios, village-based public address systems, and use of various internet and communication technologies, the programme is expected to have reached out to about 12 million people till date.
Essar Foundation
In view of the extension of the lockdown in several Indian States, which will prolong the hardships faced by the disadvantaged sections of the society, Essar Foundation, the CSR arm of the $14-billion Essar Group, has decided to increase its ongoing commitment of providing 1.25 million meals to two million meals to the poor and needy affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in India.
The Foundation has already provided almost eight lakh meals to vulnerable sections of the society, including the homeless, daily wage earners, transgenders, and women with a background of domestic violence. Of this, 20,000 meals per day are earmarked for the Maharashtra CM’s Relief Fund. Apart from the provision for daily meals, Essar Foundation has also donated the following as part of its campaign to augment COVID-19 relief efforts: 150,000 (N95 and 5,000 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to hospitals and police stations and sanitisers to hospitals, police stations and BMC workers.
The relief material is being distributed across Maharashtra, the state most acutely affected by the pandemic, and in the vicinity states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. In South Mumbai, which has been declared as a COVID-19 hotspot, the Foundation has been providing essential medical supplies to many government and private hospitals, as well as police stations.
“As one of India’s leading corporates, we feel it is important for us to step up our efforts. The extended lockdown will have a profound impact on people from the weaker sections of our society. They need all our support to survive this unprecedented calamity. We are fortunate that we are able to act promptly, in collaboration with the state machinery, because of our association with the Government of Maharashtra Corona Control CSR Group. The Essar COVID-19 Relief Fund will continue to support marginalised and vulnerable groups of people pan-India,” said Kaustubh Sonalkar, CEO-Essar Foundation and Group President-Corporate HR.
Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd
In its endeavour to support the Gujarat Government in ensuring successful lockdown and encourage villagers to stay at home, Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited (JCH-IN) has initiated Mobile Primary Health Centres (PHCs). To combat COVID-19 it is very critical to ensure lockdown in rural areas so as to minimise the spread of the deadly virus. As part of its CSR initiative, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd (JCH-IN) has equipped its Primary Health Centres with medical specialists, paramedic and 24×7 kitted ambulance to address the medical needs of villagers at their doorsteps. Also, specially trained staff of the Primary Health Centre is educating villagers on the significance of sanitisation, social distancing, immunity-boosting and other preventive measures to combat COVID-19.
Gurmeet Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. said, “The COVID-19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges that mankind is facing today. As a socially responsible company, JCH-IN is committed to support India in fighting the COVID-19 disaster. Generating high decibel awareness around sanitisation and social distancing is a big task in front of Rural India. The medical specialists provided by JCH-IN have been advising, guiding and encouraging the rural populace in Gujarat to stringently follow the various Central and State government guidelines issued on combating COVID-19. Also, timely and accurate diagnosis is provided by the medical specialists for ailments is helping the State government medical authorities to mitigate the huge overload on the medical system caused by the pandemic.”
With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic in India and its spread to Gujarat, the PHC Karannagar medical apparatus set up in the rural vicinity of Kadi, Gujarat by the CSR division of JCH-IN is completely reoriented to propagate preventive measures, address health needs and educate the villagers on basic tenets of sanitization, social distancing and strengthening immunity.
These mobile PHCs are travelling village to village and addressing the medical needs of the villagers especially pregnant women who are unable to travel to the PHC. This has not only ensured timely provision of medical intervention but also reduced risk of COVID-19 exposure by ensuring ailing elderly rural and other susceptible populace do not have to venture out. The confidence-building within the community on the ability to protect self and others against COVID-19 has been the hallmark of the CSR Health initiative of JCH-IN in this rural belt.
Tata Motors
The world is going through an unprecedented crisis and one of the worst in our living memory. The crisis has affected a large section of the community both from the economic as well as the healthcare perspective.
Tata Motors is actively supporting the government’s efforts and has adopted an E3 Strategy to combat this pandemic:
- Essential Supplies provision
- Equipping heroes on Ground Zero
- Educating masses for containment and prevention
The strategy adopted by the company to combat COVID-19 has positively impacted the lives of over 2.7 lakh individuals nationally, so far.
Impact:
Served over 112025 cooked meals (food packets) and distributed 10153 grocery kits (ration) to migrants and stranded communities, urban slums, transit camps and villagers, drivers, co-drivers, mechanics, contractual and temporary workers, security personnel, across geographies in the country
Established two helpline numbers for temporary and contractual workmen for food-related requests in Lucknow
Providing 250+ litres of safe drinking water to 19 police posts every day. Till date, 10350 bottles have been distributed
75568 certified regular and disposable masks have been distributed, out of which 15318 masks were manufactured and procured through Self-Help Group
Distribution of 14545 N95 masks, 2 ventilators, 14765 bottles of sanitisers, 275 PPE kits, 5000 litres of sodium Hydrochloride, 5 Thermal scanners, 3000 vitamin supplements to government hospitals
Provided 100 sets of beds to an isolation centre at the District hospital, Pant Nagar
1800+ stranded truck drivers and co-drivers were served cooked meals at Saarthi Aaram Kendra
Conducted awareness campaign through social media, banners, posters and sensitisation to local communities on COVID-19
Video: Tata Motors making a difference
The company is continuing its efforts to assist those, who have impacted most by the lockdown. The company firmly believes that with our collective efforts, we will come out of the crisis stronger.